Boatbirder.com: 📖 A Year Already! 🍂

Since arriving back from a fantastic trip to the Shetland Isles Dazza and I have celebrated our first full year of living in Scotland. It's been an amazing period and from a nature perspective a huge learning curve. I've definitely been surprised by the absence of many species I was so used to seeing regularly while living in Warwickshire. Once surrounded by nesting Reed Warblers around our boat moorings I'm more likely to encounter a Blyth's Reed Warbler than a Eurasian one up here in the Northeast, a Nuthatch sighting in Aberdeenshire would be priceless. This also applies to the absence of many Odonata and Butterflies, many of which do not venture this far north.

The Cairngorms

However, a balance has to be drawn and living just a 30-minute drive from the coast or a 40-minute drive west into the Cairngorms National Park, with little traffic and beautiful scenery on route is a dream scenario. Plus, I've encountered many new species over the year too such as the Scotch Argus butterfly and the Golden-ringed Dragonfly both of which I come across regularly in the summer months.

The dramatic Aberdeenshire coastline

So to the present and my birding days over the past week have been spent walking the Ythan Estuary, Including Forvie NNR, grabbing a Scottish first and hedge bashing around the shoreline of Girdleness headland.

27 Barnacle Geese on the Ythan ~ Don't count them, there not all in this image!

The Pink-footed Geese are back from Iceland in huge numbers now and each morning, and even through the night, their high pitched calls can be heard. Look up at daybreak and the sky is awash as they search for the best feeding grounds. Along with the 'Pinkies' we also have Barnacle Geese on the move. These are likely to be the Svalbard population from the Norwegian archipelago that winter on the Solway Firth along the border between England and Scotland heading back. During my visit to the Ythan on the 15th, I watched as 27 birds dropped in to perhaps rest up after their journey across the sea.

Red Admiral ~ Taking advantage of the warm unseasonal weather 16C

On the same day, I managed a good autumn count of Red Admiral butterflies with five in total.

Red-throated Diver ~ near the Ythan Mouth.

The 17th was a dreich day but the rain subsided in the early afternoon and so with Dazza away for the weekend I enjoyed a solitary walk along the Ythan Estuary. It's always a treat to see the Grey Seal haul out and the many Eiders that reside here. I dipped on a morning report of Slavonian Grebe but I had a lucrative afternoon with Arctic Terns, Great Skua, my first Long-tailed Duck of the autumn and a close-ish encounter with a Red-throated Diver, actually the first I've seen here in off the sea.

This particular Red-throated Diver provided a photographic opportunity at Inverbervie while watching a Sabine's Gull, which unfortunately never quite came close enough for a decent photo.

Overnight on the 17th and into the morning of the 18th I recorded many Redwing on the #noc-mig (nocturnal migration recording) but also managed several counts of Blackbirds and Brambling. With such good migration, I had intended to head straight for Girdleness today but instead decided to drive the 30 miles south along the coast to Inverbervie, just about still in the Aberdeenshire council area. My intention was to pick up a Scottish tick Sabine's Gull, which after a short wait I managed decent scoped views of. Nice bird with an interesting Jizz! Flying low and slow over the water before dropping down onto the sea and up again, reminded me of an ovipositing dragonfly in slow motion. After an hour or so of watching the bird, I finally headed off to Girdleness.

Brambling on the coast path at Girdleness

When I arrived at Girdleness it was what I'd been expecting, lots of Redwing and Blackbirds still moving through along with small groups of Brambling and the odd Redpoll Sp. There was plenty going on but the best while hedge bashing was at least a dozen Brambling, Yellow-browed Warbler and Chiffchaff. The tide was in so the Rock Pipits were flitting around the shoreline and small parties of returning Purple Sandpipers were hunkered down among the rocks, plus Oystercatchers, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Curlew, lots of Shag and a single Grey Plover.

More Images of my birding week...